- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Rodale Books (Sep 20 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1579546889
- ISBN-13: 978-1402579257
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 15 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#912,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #72 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Large Print
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
"I'm hardly the first person to notice that there is only the present, constantly," writes Barton in this extraordinary memoir. "The present moment is lived, and relieved; written, and rewritten. Every previous version still inhabits it." What gives this insight and the many others that follow uncommon power is the ever present fact that Barton, a pioneering entrepreneur in the cable television industry, was dying of stomach cancer as he wrote them. Alternating chapters with mystery writer Shames (The Naked Detective), Barton, who died in September, 2002, at 51, offers us-and his wife and three children-his final rewrite of a life filled with the optimism and idealism of his generation. Barton tells us how it feels to die while the party is still raging, offering us glimpses of a life that packed in everything from being a professional ski bum to working as an aide to New York State governor Hugh Carey to huge success as a visionary businessman (Barton helped found MTV, among other achievements). Readers will be knocked out by his honesty and his utter lack of self-pity or sentimentality. The "gift" of terminal cancer, according to Barton, is that "it doesn't kill you all at once. It gives you time to set your house in order.... It gives you time to think, to sum things up." Setting his house in order included taking his family for a balloon ride at dawn. Summing up what matters, he reminds us that it is the large and small moments of pleasure and love, those very present moments, that redeem us in the end. This is a very beautiful book about how to live.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Peter Barton and Laurence Shames, the graceful writer he persuaded to help him tell this tale, have produced a worthy monument, a book about how to live, and how to die."
--Ken Auletta
"This is a wise, funny, and intensely true book--a generous gift from an amazing guy to those of us who are so busy getting through life that we sometimes forget why we're living. Sooner or later, we'll all make the journey Peter Barton took; now, thanks to him, it doesn't look so scary."
--Dave Barry
"A little masterpiece. . . a book to be read by everyone. . . . [It] may be the most honest book I have ever read. . . . Some of [the] phrases and sentences literally took my breath away. . . . [Not Fade Away] lit up my own mind and spirit--dare I include soul?--to consider my own life and purposes."
--Jim Lehrer
"You couldn't know Peter Barton and not know he would face dying in the most adventurous and original way. . . . This is a book full of insight and comfort, wisdom and hope."
--Barry Diller
--Ken Auletta
"This is a wise, funny, and intensely true book--a generous gift from an amazing guy to those of us who are so busy getting through life that we sometimes forget why we're living. Sooner or later, we'll all make the journey Peter Barton took; now, thanks to him, it doesn't look so scary."
--Dave Barry
"A little masterpiece. . . a book to be read by everyone. . . . [It] may be the most honest book I have ever read. . . . Some of [the] phrases and sentences literally took my breath away. . . . [Not Fade Away] lit up my own mind and spirit--dare I include soul?--to consider my own life and purposes."
--Jim Lehrer
"You couldn't know Peter Barton and not know he would face dying in the most adventurous and original way. . . . This is a book full of insight and comfort, wisdom and hope."
--Barry Diller
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
"UNTIL I STARTED SPENDING TIME with Peter Barton, I'd never heard a dying man play rock 'n' roll." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
"UNTIL I STARTED SPENDING TIME with Peter Barton, I'd never heard a dying man play rock 'n' roll." Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I could not put this book down,
By
This review is from: Not Fade Away (Hardcover)
I was walking through the book store and stumbled upon Not Fade Away. I am very thankful that Petter Barton was generous enough to write this book. I started the book and didn't move until I stopped the read. The book is most definitely worth reading , no matter your point in life. I think it would be a superb graduation gift to a young person. It disturbs me to read the small group of negative book reviews . How could anyone with a heart not thank Peter Barton and his family for sharing this journey.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A READERS DIGEST TYPE OF LIFE...CONDENSED,
By
This review is from: Not Fade Away (Hardcover)
This book is about Peter Barton and he has written half of it and the biography part is by Laurence Shames. My personal philosophy is pretty well set in stone, but for a younger person, this book should be a good primer in how to live...well. Mr. Barton tried to do many things and did do them well. His serious occupation did not develop until his early 40's (along with his marriage) and the story of how he arrived there is very interesting. He was responsible for much of what you see on cable television today and his ideas of what to look for in finding a job for yourself is enlightening. His attitude of life is superb and you should get a lot out of reading about his stairway to the stars.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Peter Barton: A brief but very full life!,
By Bob Barr (Hanover, NH United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Not Fade Away (Hardcover)
Pete and I were classmates at Loomis. The recommendation to read his book came during our recent 35th reunion. I have two observations after reading it: the first, is my regret at not having kept up with Pete. He lived his life fully and always had a lot of fun. He was irreverent, a trait I admire. The second is his admonition to slow down and enjoy the "now" that life offers. It has given me pause as I reflect upon my own life and values. While most in my generation have assumed responsibilities that require more than the narrow focus of living entirely for the moment, Pete's experiences in the last year of his life show that responsibility and enjoying the now can go hand in hand: after all, today may be all you have.
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